Why the Wii U Is Already Dead

James writes, "The problem I find is that the same old experiences just aren’t that fun anymore, and I am absolutely not going to pay $399 to buy a Wii U when they haven’t even proven that they’re going to provide us something new and exciting to enjoy on it."
(Wii U)

You should play Trine 2 (if you haven't played it for the other systems already - it's better on Wii U anyways), Lego City Undercover is awesome, and there are tons of awesome VC games to relive again.

Awwww... Wii U is dead just in time for pikmen 3, What will wonderful 101 and the new mario game be played on when they come out? Oh no!

To reiterate. Dumb article is dumb.

In the end MS is looking most likely to pull out next gen. Considering the bad hype from One's announcement and how is vastly similar (if not damn identical) to what Sony is offering for 100 bucks less.

Meanwhile in all that drama wii U has a nice lil head start at 4 million sold and will have a better catalogue by the time either ps4 or xbone finally get past their launch slumps. All for even less than ps4. If history is any indicator... actually wii U is positioned well for 2nd place next gen if not first place if nintendo gets its shit together.

At the rate the WII U is selling, it's not likely to catch up to the PS4 or XB1 when they both come out. The PS3 was 200 bucks more than the 360, and guess what? People still bought it. Not at the rapid pace Sony thought people would, but it still sold. And Sony got plenty of bad press too.

Remember Ridge Racer? How about $599? How about Sony claiming people would take on an extra job or work extra hours to own one? How about them mocking Microsoft for making 2 SKUS at launch, and then they turn around and do the same damn thing? Or course not, people on this website have very selective memories.

Some how with out having any 3rd party support they sold 4 million. I think the xbox 360 had more time and got to 5 million before the ps3 came out.

I know lots of fans here dont care for nintendo games yet there sales make it possible to support niche projects from treasure, platinum games and help prop up sega and square.

Yet we are not seeing them do this with western developers, which is where the backlash may actually be coming from, third party wise.

Ms is pumping some major money into studios and every one wants that exotic car paycheck.

Yet Nintendo has fixed most of their flaws in their 3d game engines. Now they are getting up to industry par with HD content creation. Unlike Ms Nintendo does not pay crazy amounts for exclusive or timed content, they make it..... they make the mosr potent content in gaming and its addictive game play.

Suddenly their problems are very fixable but the media doesn't want you to not worry about Nintendo, they cant make money off that.yet they all try and claim the smash bro players, mario2d gamers, etc are not even gamers... if this is really true then this means they actually do have a greater up swing. This is proven by how they did everyone games and finished with truely niche titles.

that is a dangerous pattern for competition to keep up with. There are plenty of gaming graduates yet few understand arcade gaming play. Yet the movie industry is flooded with story, script, screenplay writes, and vfx artist that can easily exceed uncharted artistry. I thinking that once Nintendo finally tackles that and masters it sony might not have a leg to stand on unless they can get addictive game play down.

Ms is a nonfactor since their corporate ecosystem kills creativity for business plans strong arming.unless they want to pump multiple billions into 3rd party studios which would cause a failure in the west for the gaming industry job market if they pulled out of the market.

this gen will be interesting but yes the wiiu is far from dead. Wishful thinking can only hope that Nintendo drops the ball or people will get tired of their games but we are talking over 10 franchises that sell like cod and play better... with out no real network proping them up, just pure replay value.

these games are coming.... which is why some want the, to die before the storm comes. There is a lot of eye candy fatigue in the industry right now and a true hunger for game play... its called video games and not comic books after all.

It was a good article coming from a Nintendo fan not some corporate sellout journalist looking for hits. Just think about it why is Mario kart 8, bayoneta 2, X2, and smash brothers being released next year as opposed to during the launch of PS4 and Xbox One. It pretty much is allowing Sony and Microsoft to stack up their libraries as opposed to finish them off right there and then during launch. What would you rather buy on Christmas wii party u or infamous second son. No marketing or hype, tell us about the great billboard, tv commercial , Internet ad, etcétera for the wii u. No major press conference at E3 eliminating spike tv, G4, MTV, pretty much tv and media coverage. Only those that use youtube or own a wii u watch Nintendo E3 2013 direct. We are supposed to believe Nintendo is doing well or that Nintendo exclusives are going to save wii u well not without marketing/hype, third party support, price drop, perky online gaming.

i have no interest in infamous at all, and the last Wii Party outsold both Infamous games combined. i don't even like wii party, but you're daft if you think infamous can hold a candle to that game sellswise.

With no marketting hype ads mtv, etc etc smash bro, wii fit, nsmb, etc etc sold better than or like cod which is propping up hd console replay value. Now we are suppose to believe all those gamers dont want more of what they like.... then we get our niche titles and old school games while other gamers are ghinny pigs for sand box and movie gaming.

I'm pretty sure when they say "Wii u is dead", they mean the Wii u will be the console in last place with the least sales and least support. And I believe that's going to be the case with the Wii u.

The only recent success Nintendo had in the console market the last decade was Wii. It was way cheaper than the competitors and had the casual craze games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit. If it weren't for the quirky Wiimote and the novelty of "motion controls", the Wii would have ended up like the Gamecube, even with all the 1st party Nintendo games.

The Wii U is nothing like the Wii. It is barely $50 cheaper than *arguably* the best next gen console - PS4 (I say this because I'm confident that Sony has learned from their mistakes and the giant fk-up that MS did with the Xbox One but again, I can be wrong). Nintendo Land is not Wii Sports and consumers/ casuals out there still don't know about the Wii u - whether they don't know it exists or they think it's an addon for the Wii.

Pikmin 3 sales are kind of a future look at Nintendo 1st party sales on the Wii U. Even with no games for the month and it being the only notable release, Pikmin 3 did average numbers in Japan. Mario Kart 8 and 3D World will obviously increase Wii u sales but not to an extreme. And they don't release until 2014 which is after the next gen consoles launch.

I didn't even mention the fact that developers are avoiding the Wii u like the plague. No GTA V, no Battlefield 4, no good 3rd party support. I'm betting the Wii u will sell 30 million by the end of its lifetime

"Mario Kart 8 and 3D World will obviously increase Wii U sales but not to an extreme".

You do realize that Mario Kart on the Wii sold over 30 million copies right? I guarantee you that game wasn't bought by grandmas and novelty players alike. Can you name a Sony or Microsoft game that sold even close to 30 million units?

Not to mention that Galaxy 1 & 2 sold approximately 11 million and 7 million respectively.

It's games like these that will move the biggest numbers of hardware not games like Battlefield 4.

You're talking about a game (Mario Kart Wii) that was heavily bundled with Wiis for a good 3-4 years. And yes, I can guarantee that game was bought for the kids and casuals.

Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 sold 10 million copies to date. Halo 3 sold 11.5 million copies, half of which were from launch. And both of those games are from consoles that had less hardware sales than the Wii. You're delusional if you think Sony or MS don't have heavy hitter titles

what part of over 10-30 million do you not understand? bundled or not no ps3 first party game did those numbers. the closest would be halo or gears of war. people are buying systems to get those games.

then mario was only one of ten games that did that.

it all brings yohi back to the 3ds situation. Nintendo obviously has games that sells system. sony has the games that get a lot of awards and ms will pay any thing to be in that conversation.

Yeah, it's far too early to say something is dead, especially when so many games are supposed to come out for it. Too early! The Last Story 2, Monolith's X, Smash Bros, Metroid, 3D Mario, Bayonetta 2, New Zelda U, Fire Emblem x Shin Megami, Call of Duty Ghosts, Dreamfall Chapters, Watch Dogs, Batman Origins, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Wonderful 101, Miyamoto's new ip, and Mario Kart will all be on the Wii U. We might even see a Monster Hunter 4 and Pandora's Tower 2. Like what I said it's far too early!

I agree that those are great games, however 1 is DLC, 1 is an eshop exclusive, and Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 despite looking spectacular are not really system movers. But Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 should help get the ball rolling so Nintendo better hope they can keep up momentum into the holidays when PS4 and XB1 hit and into the future. A price cut could help as well.

here's more, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, Fatal Frame, Zelda, MonolithSoft RPG and many other yet to be announced games...also, keep in mind that the Wii U launched just last year, and it didn't complete a whole freaking year, why those idiots so quick to judge it? this lame article should not get approved

Never knew fatal frame would get a wiiu outing. Anyway although i do not have a wiiu as a fellow gamer i still hope to see the system with games that optimizes its raison de'etre.(the pad) Just imaging playing Falal F with it, pure awesomesauce. :-)

Plus marketing, price drop, online gaming on par to STEAM or PC gaming online features, third party support, wii virtual console should of been transferred to wii u not restart the virtual console from square one. That wad dumb is like oh sorry let's start PS Plus from square one or xbox live from square one. See how dumb it is.

1. You will MAYBE be able to play PS1 Classics on your PS4... and that's it. All those other downloadable games available on PSN for PS3? They won't run on your PS4, it's not backwards compatible at all. Sony has already confirmed this.

2. On Wii U, you can access EVERYTHING that was available for Wii, Virtual Console and Wiiware games. You just need to access them in Wii mode. It's just a pretty small inconvenience to bear in exchange for full backwards compatibility.

Now, would it have been even better if all that Virtual Console and Wiiware content was directly available on the Wii U's eShop? Sure. But it's still leagues better than what Sony is offering on the PS4... because Sony is offering exactly NOTHING, as far as backwards compatibility is concerned. And if I'm not mistaken, it's the same story for the Xbox One, isn't it? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Basically: Nintendo didn't start Virtual Console from square one, not really. Sony and Microsoft, however, are doing exactly that with the PS4 and Xbox One. So... care to reconsider calling Nintendo "dumb" in that area? Because they have many, many things actually worthy of criticism, yet you chose to call them out on one of the few things they're actually besting their competitors at. :P

I wouldn't say the Wii U is dead yet, the system has only been out for 9 months for crying out loud. The problem being the Wii U launched with no hype to non fanboys, the largest controller since the jaguar, a much weaker console than their competitors, dismal third party sales on top of a limited software selection. To make matters worst the Wii U is only $50 cheaper than the all hype PS4, and poorly marketed so far. Nintendo needs to work some 3DS magic and re impulse consumers otherwise in another 2 years the title of this article might come true.

To me it seem like the Wii U was rushed to market to beat everyone else. Employing the same strategy MS did with the X360 launch. Like MS they were not completely prepared for this launch with most of their gold mine software coming out later. I mean Nintendo had their top brass coming out saying we didn't know HD graphics required more man power. That's Don Mattrick bad with HD graphics being over an decade old.

True, but Microsoft released Gears of War during the launch of the PS3 and wii. Nintendo this Christmas Mario 3D land with cat suits, Wii Party U, and wii fit u. Come on are those games megablockbusters or games that will sway gamers to buy a wii u instead of a PS4 or xbox one. No, Mario Kart 8, Xenoblade 2, Bayoneta 2 and Super smash brothers would of been perfect for this Christmas. Those were the games Nintendo needed this year especially during the launch of its rivals.

Mario Kart 8, Xenoblade 2, and SMB will help sell systems but if Sony and MS come out guns blazing, I don't think the maturing gaming audience is going to care. Based on software sales, advertisement, and word of mouth, allot of people are just not that excited about what Nintendo is offering besides Nintendo's hardcore fans.

I go in my local Gamestop and I see nobody standing over by the Wii U, half the time the system is not even on. I never seen my local Gamestop, Best Buy, or even WalMart not have Wii Us in stock. So I get why so many articles come out saying the Wii U is dead, or in trouble. There's just not a whole lot of excitement from the general public about the system.

Last time I checked the Wii U was $349 and $299 for the premium and deluxe respectively, not $399 like the article states. I do think it needs a price drop though, it's price is way too close to the PS4 right now.

I whole heartily agree but what you said is not happening this Christmas Aaaaaarghhhh Mario kart 8 is coming on Spring 2014not Christmas 2013. That's when the PS4 and Xbox One are already released enjoying it's second or first month.

Mario kart 8 is coming on Spring 2014 not Christmas 2013. Not a bad idea of a holiday bundle. Hmm a holiday bundle at $300.00 for the deluxe version of the wii u with donkey Kong Country tropical freeze+Mario 3D land with cat suits. That will sell lots of wii u no

That's right, ONE controller & NO game! So to compare the DELUXE model of the Wii U is just wrong, considering it comes with at least one game. So if you wanted a more fair compairison, I would compare it the BASIC model @ $299. If you you wanted a real deal though on Wii U, I'd look for the Zombie U Edition, which not only has a sick box, but it comes with Zombie U, Nintendoland, the gamepad plus the Pro controller for $370!! That's TWO controllers & TWO games. Did I mention that the gamepad is a tablet?? The tablet gamepad alone is easily worth $200! (which by the way is WAAAAY more than just a screen to put your maps & inventory on, it even has a front facing camera, mic, stylus & even NFC!...don't think the $250 Vita has all that!).

OK now to try & match the Zombie U bundle... Wii U Zombie U Bundle - $370 Comes with: -Two games -One Pro controller -One tablet controller -one subscription to the Wii U deluxe program, getting you 10% back on all the games you buy from the eShop for two years

PlayStation 4 Battlefield 4 Launch Day Bundle - $499 Comes with: -One game -One controller -one subscription to PS Plus ...still missing a tablet type controller -add another $250 for the Vita (which still can't do everything the tablet can do -add the eye that is missing to complete with Wii U's motion controlls - $70 -add another game (Knack) - $59 Total $878!!

With the only thing left is the fact that it is the "most powerfull Console"...which really only has dated PC parts.

So don't kid yourselves...if you want what Wii U offers, then expect to pay at least double if you plan on getting the PS4.

So no, we do not need a price drop with the Wii U yet, we just need more games more system bundles!

Umm with the News of how great Earthbound is selling on the Wii U and with Pikmin 3 coming and all the indie support going to Nintendo as well... I don't see Nintendo going ANYWHERE and time soon.

Plus with the BIG news that Nintendo just put a Earthbound Announcement community on the Miiverse says there might be some BIG announcements coming from the big N real soon about Earthbound. Plus a brand new IP is being worked on for the Wii U. Still WAY to much news to be announced for Wii U and WAY to many more games coming from Nintendo to say there all but finished.

My fellow Wii u owners and gamers, we are going to have to deal with articles like this for a while longer it seems. The ps3, 3ds, went through it and the vita is currently going through it. I'm pretty sure we'll see this with ps4/x1 too, but I think the Wii u will be fine with sonic, smash, 3d world, donkey Kong, bayonetta2, yarn yoshi, X, Mario kart8, ww HD.... It may not see success like the Wii but it will be just fine imo.

It's not dead, but Nintendo squandered a good opportunity. For about 10 months it was the only new console on the market. Now they have to contend with the ps4 and xbone, which are roughly the same price. Without a price cut its going to be tough.

It may not be dead...but it sure as hell is on life support, at the moment.

And this is the price Nintendo will pay for not creating a console to compete with Sony and MS. They wanna act like they have no competition and that they dont have to keep up with current tech? Okay. We'll see the Wii U take a hit on sales as soon as the PS4 and XB1 launches. Mark my words on that.

Nintendo: I wanna be an individual and do my own thing. I dont care what Sony and Microsoft is doing. Were not trying to compete with them. Were just gonna keep doing our thang...even if it costs us sales and profits...and gamers. And guess what folks, we dont care. Were gonna turn around and do the same thing again, for the 10th gen...8-10 years from now. Yeah, LOL...were STUPID like that.

Not competing with Sony and Microsoft is what made their previous console so successful. I'm not saying it worked this time, but the Wii was a cultural phenomenon in its day. Why wouldn't Nintendo at least attempt to replicate that success?

From how they handled it it didn't have a chance in hell of reaching that same success, but at least it makes sense why they did it.

It`s certainly without a doubt that the sales for the Wii U don`t look that great at the moment, but that can change with a price drop or some games like Zelda and so on.

Frankly I had very little use for my Wii U so far since the launch besides of some of the launch games like ZombieU and earlier this year Lego Undercovered and now Pikmin 3. That`s for sure not the amount of software I want to see in the long run for a gaming system if I compare how many games I bought for PC and other consoles in the same time frame so they need to do something there.

Nintendo went back to how they were with Gamecube, good games and all. But nothing to make people want it more then the other consoles.

But I would take a Wii U over a Xbox One any day, the only thing I hated about the Wii U (besides very slow loads) is the there was really no support for the Pro controller. Couldn't use it to play most games for single player and the gamepad wasted battery life by having the screen an sound on. Which is why it was pointless to look at the tv when playing Mario Wii U.

Do we really need to say anything about this article? I mean...just look at the headline. That is not the headline of constructive analysis.

And you know what? I read the article. All of it, and there's nothing important to see there. If you doubt me, know that the author thinks that Nintendo should make Link act more like Kratos and Master Chief. That says enough.

I'm all for criticism on the Wii U. It needs help, yes. But N4G is up to its neck in the same derivative, cookie-cutter articles that never say anything new or topically relevant. But this...this is a new low. This one isn't even trying.

Why do we do this crap of needing to be in a camp? Im a gamer like everyone else. I like all systems and even play on my smartphone. All of this background noise is not killing the industry, its killing our experiences. The first year a console comes out is its worst! This is one of the reasons some games are comng out for current and next gen. Once the amount of systems sell THEN the real fun begins. These games take years to complete and take a lot out of people who make them. Less trash talk and more support is more like it!